Plushenko came back after three years away from competition and landed a 4-3 combo as if it was a walk in the park. His competitive vigour and bravura skating have rightly won him the adulation of those around the world and his three Olympic medals remains a laudatory achievement.

Lysacek pushed himself extremely hard after a disappointing 2008 season (missing Worlds due to injury). Watching him improve over the 2008/09 season with his "Rhapsody in Blue" program was wonderful and seeing his athleticism and command of the ice improve over the past quadrennial has been enjoyable.

That men's final was one of the best ever, both short and long program. I don't think we have to worry about the future of skating if this is the quality we're getting!

One thing that got me about Plushy as he took to the ice was his absolute confidence. There's something really impressive about a guy who can show up in the greatest pressure situation in his sport and just let it rip—and this after almost four years off the ice! Not only that, because he had not competed last year, he was unranked, so didn't he skate in the first flight or thereabouts for the short program? And he still ended up with one of the highest scores of the night. This is a guy who knows he belongs on the ice, in the spotlight. Nothing shakes him.

Evan started standing out for me in 2006, when he got sick and still powered himself to just shy of the podium. If what Plushenko has is confidence, what Lysacek has is sheer determination. This is not a man who waits for inspiration to strike. He just keeps going. He plans, he prepares, he absorbs everything he can from teachers, and he sets to work and doesn't give up. No wonder Frank Carroll loves coaching him. Coaches and teachers live for students like this, who take in everything and give their all in return.

The other thing I love about Evan is the way he handled himself off the ice when criticism of his win started surfacing. If anyone can find the interview Bob Costas did with him, watch it. The dignity with which he answered Costas's questions, and the measured, articulate responses he gave, mesmerized me. I couldn't have reacted with such cool precision in a situation like that. This isn't a kid. This is a man. Not just skating but public life in general could use more like him.
(Yes, I remember that he made a snippy comment about Weir at one point later on, but he did apologize, and nobody's a perfect paragon all the time. He sure hit the moral high ground during the Olympics.)

As for which guy's skating I like better, I prefer one or the other depending on the particular performance. Neither is at the top of my Skate Swoon List; those spots are reserved for Browning, Curry, Wylie, and Yagudin, with Takahashi closing in fast. Obviously, when it comes to Plushy vs. Evan, Plushy wins in terms of jumps. But skating technique is not my field of knowledge. I'll wait to hear how the site experts analyze each of these guys.